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'''The Big Bang?'''

'''The Big Bang?'''

Another scientific controversy in the early 20th century concerned whether there was an origin or initial moment for the universe.  Increasingly some physicists insisted in the 1920s was that the universe must have always existed in a “steady state,” and that creation was myth.  But in 1927 a Belgian Catholic priest, Georges-Henri Lemaître, proposed that the universe must have begun in an initial massive “explosion” like a creation.  He was ridiculed for years, with one prominent physicist making fun of his hypothesis by calling it the “Big Bang.”  But in 1929, Edwin Hubble, another devout Christian, discovered evidence supporting the “Big Bang” and now most physicists accept this theory (and the name, even though it was first used to make fun of the theory).  Research in the 1960s in central New Jersey discovered further support for the Big Bang, for which the Bell Labs scientists received the Nobel Prize.

Another scientific controversy in the early 20th century concerned whether there was an origin or initial moment for the universe.  Increasingly some physicists insisted in the 1920s that the universe must have always existed in a “steady state,” and that creation was myth.  But in 1927 a Belgian Catholic priest, Georges-Henri Lemaître, proposed that the universe must have begun in an initial massive “explosion” like a creation.  He was ridiculed for years, with one prominent physicist making fun of his hypothesis by calling it the “Big Bang.”  But in 1929, Edwin Hubble, another devout Christian, discovered evidence supporting the “Big Bang” and now most physicists accept this theory (and the name, even though it was first used to make fun of the theory).  Research in the 1960s in central New Jersey discovered further support for the Big Bang, for which the Bell Labs scientists received the Nobel Prize.

'''Other 20th Century Theories'''

'''Other 20th Century Theories'''

Author and attorney Franz Kafka penned several classic stories illustrating how humans are alienated from a hostile, unintelligible and indifferent modern world.  Several of his works became classics after Kafka died, including ''The Trial'' (1925) and ''The Castle'' (1926).  In ''The Trial'', an innocent man finds himself a defendant in a trial that he cannot understand, and he is sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t do.  Kafka’s most famous short story was ''The Metamorphosis'' (1915), in which someone awakens to realize that he has been transformed into a massive cockroach that has been fatally injured.  Throughout Kafka’s works he expressed and sympathized with the feeling of being an outsider, of being someone who is not in the “in group.”  Kafka himself lacked religion and suffered from bouts of insanity as he grew older.

Author and attorney Franz Kafka penned several classic stories illustrating how humans are alienated from a hostile, unintelligible and indifferent modern world.  Several of his works became classics after Kafka died, including ''The Trial'' (1925) and ''The Castle'' (1926).  In ''The Trial'', an innocent man finds himself a defendant in a trial that he cannot understand, and he is sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t do.  Kafka’s most famous short story was ''The Metamorphosis'' (1915), in which someone awakens to realize that he has been transformed into a massive cockroach that has been fatally injured.  Throughout Kafka’s works he expressed and sympathized with the feeling of being an outsider, of being someone who is not in the “in group.”  Kafka himself lacked religion and suffered from bouts of insanity as he grew older.

Philosophers increasingly abandoned religion.  Frenchman Jean Paul Sartre and the German Karl Jaspers advanced a new philosophy called “existentialism”, which taught that life has no meaning at all and that neither God not morality exist.  Existentialism was a rebellion against all philosophy, seeking freedom for each person to form whatever value system he likes.  Rather than "I think therefore I am," and existentialist might say, "I exist therefore I think."  An atheist, Sartre’s most famous work was ''L'âge de raison'' (''The Age of Reason'') (1945).  Towards the end of his life he expressed sympathy with the terrorists who kidnapped and killed Israelis during the 1972 Olympics, asserting that it was “perfectly scandalous” how the French press criticized the terrorism.   

Philosophers increasingly abandoned religion.  Frenchman Jean Paul Sartre and the German Karl Jaspers advanced a new philosophy called “existentialism”, which taught that life has no meaning at all and that neither God nor morality exist.  Existentialism was a rebellion against all philosophy, seeking freedom for each person to form whatever value system he likes.  Rather than "I think therefore I am," an existentialist might say, "I exist therefore I think."  An atheist, Sartre’s most famous work was ''L'âge de raison'' (''The Age of Reason'') (1945).  Towards the end of his life he expressed sympathy with the terrorists who kidnapped and killed Israelis during the 1972 Olympics, asserting that it was “perfectly scandalous” how the French press criticized the terrorism.   

Prior work in the 1800s by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was the basis for the existentialism movement in the 1900s.  Nietzsche is famous for his statement that “God is dead.”  Nietzsche criticized Western democracy, preferring instead rule by elitist groups who could become almost superhuman through effort and courage.  Nietzsche himself went insane later in life, but many Germans promoted his ideas after World War I as Germans struggled to find self-esteem.

Prior work in the 1800s by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was the basis for the existentialism movement in the 1900s.  Nietzsche is famous for his statement that “God is dead.”  Nietzsche criticized Western democracy, preferring instead rule by elitist groups who could become almost superhuman through effort and courage.  Nietzsche himself went insane later in life, but many Germans promoted his ideas after World War I as Germans struggled to find self-esteem.